Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Let's live like we're alive.

HI!

I am alive and well and on my 6th week of school and I though I should let anyone and everyone out there know how I am doing. When someone asks me "How's school?" I really dont know how to respond. Goodish? thats not a word. Honestly, its draining. My heart breaks everyday seeing so many lost people, but I know God wants me there. It's been tough at times, but I still know God wants me there. I have friends...if I can call them that. They're girls from soccer who I knew who are nice. I sit with them at lunch everyday. I did track for a week, but I quit yesterday because it is just too much right now. I wasn't getting home until 5 o'clock and was way too tired to do anything at all. The school play of Beauty and the Beast is this weekend and I saw a teaser today. It was great. I wish I would have come to school earlier so that I could be in it; it looks so fun! My honors classes are great, I'm learning a lot. Other classes are pretty good, except interior design. You'd think I'd learn a lot in that class...right? Wrong. The teacher is an eccentric push over who lets the obnoxious girls do whatever. We pretty much sit and cut pictures out of magazines and glue them on paper like pre schoolers. anyway. Theres a girl who goes to my church and also goes to my school AND lives around the corner from me AND her boyfriend is my old best friends brother. WEIRD I know! I sit with her on the bus everyday. She makes me laugh. Hopefully we can become better friends. The other day I dressed like Nancy Drew (skort, flowery raincoat, etc.) and got some weird looks. It was funny. At lunch I've talked about God stuff a few times when they were talking about Lent and other times and I've worn DHT t shirts, Leeland T shirts, Bible verse T shirts. It's been interesting. There's really NO ONE like me at all that I've met so far. Fake religion pretty much. Ah well thats why I'm there.

PRAYER: That I would everyday be strengthened by the Spirit for school. That I would be a light. That I can make deeper friendships with people. That I can meet more new people because I kind of feel disconnected. That I would meet ONE REAL CHRISTIAN. And that I can share God's love with people.

I think I'll be posting more often.

Sorry this is so long and hard to read. I'm tired and have to leave for church soon.

Thanks for all your prayers!!!

♥ ♥ Jasmine

Sunday, February 1, 2009

I'm not dead.

Hi!

I survived my first week of school. I actually enjoyed it. Well more than I expected to.

Monday: In all academic classes, no honors. I helped a girl in my algebra class within the first 10 minutes. In science I was finished my 40 question work sheet on minerals before everyone else. Most of the kids didn't care at all about the class or their grades or learning. So when I came home my mom called my counselor and I was able to be placed in two honors classes and I was SO thankful to God because they normally don't just move someone up like that.

Tuesday: 3 hours of foresight tests which are like 11th grade PSSA practices. They were boring and stressful and then I had a shortened class schedule and was still in academic classes so it wasn't a great day.

Wednesday: SNOW DAY :] I slept past 10 o clock since I'd been waking up at 5:30 or 6 all week.

Thursday: Two hour delay. I had to ride the bus because my parents had to go to a meeting and I missed my bus. So I rode my sister's bus and then they dropped me off at the high school. That was interesting. First day of honors classes. Students are much better in the classes and there might actually be a potential friend, possibly two. Shortened schedule again so I haven't had a normal school day all week.

Friday: First normal day of school. All my classes are pretty good and I know where I'm going now.

That sums up my classes. I have to do make up work for my honors English and Social studies but its not too bad, considering I haven't had any homework in math or science yet. All my teachers are really good, except my math teacher is not as serious and my interior design teacher is weird. Speaking of which, I'm taking interior design and guitar for my electives and I'll think I'll learn a lot in them. I only needed help opening my locker once, which was surprising. At lunch on Monday I sat at a table by myself and another girl came and sat with me and she was...different but seriously she's been the nicest to me out of anyone. I know girls from soccer and people who used to be my best friends in grade school. No one has been mean to me (yet) and everyone is nice, but no one is truly kind. They all have their own friends and no one wants to be my friend. I think I just need to be friendlier and not so nervous looking and find people that need a friend. The language is really bad. Almost everyone curses everywhere. It bothers me, but there's nothing I can do about it. I pray I won't become immune to the sinfulness of it. So far, it hasn't been a bad experience, but definitely a growing experience. I don't think it's any worse than I expected it to be, maybe even a little better than I anticipated. Thanks for keeping me in your prayers! I have to get back to this new thing I have called HOMEWORK. I have to do a lot of make up work for English and Social Studies form the first and second marking periods besides the work they're doing right now.

♥ ♥ Jasmine

P.S.- I got an ipod nano 3rd gen. and I love it!

P.S.S. - I'm riding the bus for the first time tomorrow. Please pray that I don't miss it and that it isn't too scary...

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Tomorrow, Tomorrow

I'm starting tomorrow. It's less than 12 hours awaaaaaaay.

Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

I don't think anything says it better than that. God knows what I'm going to face tomorrow and he knows who my teachers are and how many times I'll get lost. I'm soo nervous and scared, but I haven't got a single doubt that this isn't God's hand and timing because everything in me says: therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Go. There's obviously a reason why he called me to go now, and I'm anxious for that reason to be revealed.

Thank you so much for praying for me and encouraging me over the past few weeks. I humbly ask for continued prayer, that I will not become to overwhelmed tomorrow and throughout the week, that I would not be judgmental to the 1200 students there, but have humility, that I can make some friends and connect with the Christians who are there, and that I will not be discouraged, but that Christ would shine through me and that His will will be done.

♥ ♥ Jasmine

Friday, January 16, 2009

I am elated...

at the thought of lunch on the first day. I made a lunch box & setting just like Nancy Drew's and I also have an apple sweater and am bringing a cupcake because I am ridiculous like that.



This makes me laugh hysterically. If Nancy Drew did it, I can right?

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

God has a ridiculous sense of humor.

I swore I would never go to school.

There are pros and cons to going now and also for waiting, but after reading and meditating on scripture (that God ordained a friend to send to me) and praying my heart out, I felt God wanted me to go now. I prayed for confirmation, and today at church I got it. Before my evangelism class at church started, I was telling my best friend all about the school visit, and pros and cons of going or waiting, and verses God had laid on my heart and that I believed God wanted me to go and now was waiting for complete confirmation. So we walk into class and the theme of the night is salt in light. The first slide of the power point was Matthew 5: 13-16, and I knew as soon as it came up that this was the confirmation I was waiting for. I stated that verse to Janel not two minutes before. I also talked to her about Matthew 28:19 and how every time I thought of waiting until September, that verse popped into my head. That scripture was also in the lesson. Every time something that was confirmation for me came up, I slapped Janel who was sitting next to me. I hope you're ok Janel hahaha. It was ridiculous.

Waiting until September would be easier, but I didn't go to the rebelution conference and read Do Hard Things and not grasp onto any of the truth of it. If I didn't know to the core of myself that it is God's will that I go to public high school on the 26st of January, I would wait on Him. I am going to be the 'new girl' in every class, have to catch up to where they are in a few classes, get lost, need help opening my locker, and stand out. I cannot do this on my own and would not have decided to do it on my own. I'm only a girl doing God's will, relying on His strength, and hoping to bring Him glory.

Prayer would be greatly appreciated. I have a lot to do and not a lot of time. I am basically going to be taken from my comfortable home and comfortably easy school and plopped right into the middle of public high school. Culture shock? definitely. Please pray for me!

♥ ♥ Jasmine

P.S. I'm wearing my do hard things t shirt on the first day of school...

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Hi God, can you please explain this?

OK.

So up until this afternoon I was planning to attend public school on the 26th. My mom called the guidance counselor today and talked to her for a while about the transition and stuff.

Here's the deal. I could only take one elective this semester because of freshman seminar or something. I've been taking Latin at home but they only have French & Spanish at school so my semester of Latin wouldn't count on my transcript and I couldn't take a language at school because its a year course. So, I'd have to be using one of my elective spots for the next three years to take a language. If the courses are very different or are more ahead than I am, it would be very overwhelming to go have to back and study what they had previously learned and keep up with the class, but right now I'm not sure what any of the classes are like.

And, I have to make my decision on whether to go this semester or not by Friday.

So please pray that God would show me what His will is and where He wants me to be going to school for the next five months, and that I would follow Him in His answer.

Until I get an answer from Him, my mom is going to meet with the guidance counselor tomorrow and give her my grades and some tests and papers and examples of what I'm doing right now and the counselor will give them to the teachers so they will decide whether I can go right in with the class or will have to review stuff to catch up to where they are. That way, if God decides He wants me in school now, I'll be ready to go, and if not, I can wait for His timing.

I feel like a missionary waiting for a visa . I felt so sure that I was supposed to go right now and it would be an easy transition. I had an idealistic view of how everything was going to be, but God has other plans.

Thanks for praying for me as my path towards school has unfolded.

Waiting impatiently for His answer,
♥ ♥ Jasmine